Red Lobster to open in Puerto Rico

January 22, 2013|By Sandra Pedicini, Orlando Sentinel

Red Lobster is opening in Puerto Rico.

Restaurant Operators Inc., which already has plans for Olive Gardens and LongHorn Steakhouse franchises on the island, will now also operate Red Lobsters there as well, Orlando-based Darden Restaurants said Tuesday.

ROI will develop a minimum of eight Olive Garden, three Red Lobsters and three additional LongHorn Steakhouse restaurants in Puerto Rico by 2017. The first Olive Garden and the next LongHorn should open there this year.

ROI already operates five LongHorn restaurants in Puerto Rico as part of an agreement reached before Darden's 2007 purchase of that chain.

Red Lobster is focusing more on the Hispanic market. Last week, the chain unveiled a Spanish-language ad campaign. Darden said it's too early to determine whether those ads will run in Puerto Rico.

The decision to operate in Puerto Rico is Red Lobster's latest expansion beyond the continental United States. At 45 years old, the nation's largest seafood chain operates across much of the country, and Darden only builds a few new Red Lobsters in the U.S. each year. Darden also has restaurants in Canada.

The company's expansion outside North American began in 2011, when it revealed plans to begin building Middle Eastern restaurants. The company has since signed an agreement to open in Mexico.

In the 1980s, Darden built a group of Red Lobsters in Japan. The number has dwindled to 22, and they are operated by a separate company that pays Darden royalties.

Red Lobster has recently changed its menu, offering more entrees for less than $15 and more dishes such as chicken for people who don't like seafood.

Still, sales dropped 2.7 percent in the company's last quarter, and 2.6 percent the quarter before that.